A transmission electron microscope capable of obtaining a hollow-cone dark-field image and visually displaying irradiation conditions thereof includes an irradiation unit for irradiating a specimen with an electron beam, an objective lens for causing the electron beam transmitted through the specimen to form an image, beam deflectors positioned higher than a position where the specimen is placed, an objective movable aperture for passing only a portion of the electron beam transmitted through the specimen, and a deflection coil control unit. The deflection coil control unit controls a deflection angle of the electron beam using the beam deflectors such that the specimen is irradiated with the electron beam at a predetermined angle with respect to an optical axis while the electron beam is moving in a precessional manner and only a diffracted wave and/or a scattered wave having a desired angle passes through the objective movable aperture.

Systems and methods of providing a probe spot in multiple modes of operation of a charged-particle beam apparatus are disclosed. The method may comprise activating a charged-particle source to generate a primary charged-particle beam and selecting between a first mode and a second mode of operation of the charged-particle beam apparatus. In the flooding mode, the condenser lens may focus at least a first portion of the primary charged-particle beam passing through an aperture of the aperture plate to form a second portion of the primary charged-particle beam, and substantially all of the second portion is used to flood a surface of a sample. In the inspection mode, the condenser lens may focus a first portion of the primary charged-particle beam such that the aperture of the aperture plate blocks off peripheral charged-particles to form the second portion of the primary charged-particle beam used to inspect the sample surface.

A charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a limiting aperture member at the downstream side of the emission source, arranged such that its height position can be selectively adjusted, according to condition, to be one of the n-th height position (n being an integer of 1 or more) based on the n-th condition depending on at least one of the height position of the emission source and an emission current value, and the (n+m)th height position (m being an integer of 1 or more) based on the (n+m)th condition depending on at least one of the height position of the emission source and the emission current value, and a shaping aperture member at the downstream side of the electron lens and the limiting aperture member to shape the charged particle beam by letting a part of the charged particle beam pass through a second opening.

Variations in charged-particle-beam (CPB) source location are determined by scanning an alignment aperture that is fixed with respect to a beam defining aperture in a CPB, particularly at edges of a defocused CPB illumination disk. The alignment aperture is operable to transmit a CPB portion to a secondary emission surface that produces secondary emission directed to a scintillator element. Scintillation light produced in response is directed out of a vacuum enclosure associated with the CPB via a light guide to an external photodetection system.

In one embodiment, a method of aperture alignment for a multi charged particle beam writing apparatus includes irradiating a shaping aperture member with a charged particle beam while changing an incident direction, detecting a current for each of the incident directions of the charged particle beam, producing a current distribution map based on the incident direction and the current, and moving the shaping aperture member or a blanking aperture member based on the current distribution map to align the shaping aperture member with the blanking aperture member.

The present invention concerns a charged-particle multi-beamlet system that comprises a source of charged particles (301); a first multi-aperture plate (320) having plural apertures disposed in a charged particle beam path of the system downstream of the source; a first multi-aperture selector plate (313) having plural apertures; a carrier (340), wherein the first multi-aperture selector plate is mounted on the carrier; and an actuator (350) configured to move the carrier such that the first multi-aperture selector plate is disposed in the charged particle beam path of the system downstream of the source in a first mode of operation of the system, and such that the first multi-aperture selector plate is disposed outside of the charged particle beam path in a second mode of operation of the system. The source, the first multi-aperture plate and the carrier of the system are arranged such that a first number of charged particle beamlets is generated at a position downstream of both the first multi-aperture plate and the first multi-aperture selector plate in the first mode of operation, and that a second number of charged particle beamlets is generated at the position in the second mode of operation, wherein the first number of beamlets differs from the second number of beamlets.

An actuator capable of reducing vibrations of its output shaft is offered. The actuator (100) includes an electric motor (10), a ball spline (20) of finite stroke length, and a nut (32). The ball spline (20) has a shaft (22) provided with rolling grooves (23) which are formed along the axis of the spline and along which balls (24) can roll. An external thread (34) is formed on the shaft (22). The nut (32) has an internal thread (33) with which the external thread (34) threadedly mates, and operates to transmit the rotary force of the motor (10) into the shaft (22).

The present invention relates to a slit diaphragm, a slit diaphragm system comprising at least two slit diaphragms arranged adjacent to each other and to a coating module and coating facility comprising a slit diaphragm.

An imaging device is provided. The imaging device includes: one or more imaging sources; and a plurality of detectors combined by joining, the plurality of detectors being configured to receive one or more imaging beams emitted by the one or more imaging sources.

Variations in charged-particle-beam (CPB) source location are determined by scanning an alignment aperture that is fixed with respect to a beam defining aperture in a CPB, particularly at edges of a defocused CPB illumination disk. The alignment aperture is operable to transmit a CPB portion to a secondary emission surface that produces secondary emission directed to a scintillator element. Scintillation light produced in response is directed out of a vacuum enclosure associated with the CPB via a light guide to an external photodetection system.